Campora is a municipality in the province of Salerno, Italy, in the main and pulsing heart of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo of Diano and Alburni, recognized by UNESCO as a Heritage of Humanity. The toponym Campora comes from the Latin campus orationis, field of prayer, reflection and contemplation. The place is rich in woods, rivers, almost 150 water springs, a Shakespearian landscape where you can breathe the magic atmosphere of the Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was founded by the Italo-Greek Monks, the Basilian, in X century, who established here their monastery. They practiced the charity and they taught the cultivation of the land to be self sufficient. At this small and smart village there the “street of the genius”. No where in the world there is such a street. In fact, here Dr. Mario, Pasquale, Giuseppe Feola was born on March 20th, 1927. Mario Feola graduated Summa Cum Laude with a medical degree from Naples in 1950. Then, as an Obstetrician and a Gynecologist in1955. At the age of 29 he travelled to USA. At the age of 30 he left for West Virginia to meet some friends and relative of Campora. In 1958 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, working at the Saint Vincent Charity Hospital. Here he met his wife Arleen Sabo. Mario became a USA citizen in 1965. He was lucky to meet Dr. John H. Kennedy who was doing a cardiovascular research. Dr. John H. Kennedy was recruited to Huston Texas by the world famous surgeon, Dr. Michael De Bakey. And Dr. Kennedy asked Mario to come with him. Dr. De Bakey worked on the artificial heart program. In 1969 the first total artificial heart was implanted on a human by another world famous surgeon, Dr. Denton Cooley. At the Texas Heart Institute Dr. Mario Feola would perform 4-5 open heart cases a day. In 1975 Mario was recruited to Texas Tech University Health Science Center as a professor of Surgery. So he had an interest in blood substitutes. He is known worldwide for his pioneering research in blood substitutes and ultimately for developing and artificial blood product from bovine emoglobine that was successfully tested on humans 1993. In 1971 Mario was recruited to Chicago by Dr. Stanley Brockman who worked in developing the pacemaker. With a great sadness Mario Feola passed away on December 7th, 2016 in Lubbock, Texas. Survived by his wife, Arleen and four children: Terri, Susi, Peter and Helen and 13 grandchildren.

This text was donated by Dr. Peter Feola, son to Dr. Mario Feola and it has been worked out by Prof. Angelo Paolo Perriello.